The Marketplace Strategy Blog

“They’ve actually got Holiday decorations in the supermarket, can you believe it, it’s only just October!?” Every year it’s the same. One minute we’re enjoying light evenings and family BBQs, the next we’re unearthing scarves and complaining about Christmas songs in the shops. But for those of us working in the retail industry, planning for the peak season actually begins months in advance.

We’ve gotten used to seeing the headlines about the “death of the high street,” “retail stores facing an apocalypse” and other equally scaremongering predictions. It’s been refreshing this week to hear that retail stores could be facing a renaissance, led by Amazon of all companies! Instead of dissipating, the role of store has evolved, and smart retailers should be examining how they can embrace this growing trend favoring experiences over products.

eCommerce in the Nordics is flourishing. Last year sales across the region hit an estimated 21.7 billion euros, with Swedish shoppers contributing 8.2 billion euros alone. In a recent study, two thirds of the population across Norway, Sweden and Denmark reported to have shopped online in the previous month (and just under half in Finland). It’s a market famous for the success of its exported brands like H&M and Ikea, synonymous with great quality, value and style.

“By 2020, more than 50% of online sellers will either list their products on marketplaces or sell third-party products on their core commerce sites” predicts Gartner. Despite the prevalence of the marketplace model across the world, for many in the retail industry, marketplaces mean Amazon.

As we wave goodbye to the summer holidays, lament that our next bank holiday isn’t until December and mummerings about Peak Season become harder to ignore.. It can mean only one thing….Event season is almost upon us.

As we get back into the post-summer activity we can start to look forward to the new ideas and insights that come with the event season. It’s at this time of year that the UK retail industry comes together to debate the most pressing topics at the front of everyone’s mind wherever you work across the value chain. Not only is it a great opportunity to hear from the brightest minds in tech, eCommerce and CX… it’s also the perfect chance to network with peers and forge new relationships.

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Mirakl is the leading Marketplace platform provider. Collectively, our team has hundreds of years of Marketplace operation experience. Combining our experience with a scalable, robust, purpose-built technology platform, we bring youbestpractices and practical knowledge to successfully scale your business with your own Marketplace.